The Hywind, a 2.3 megawatt (MW) wind turbine built by Siemens, combines technologies from both the wind farming industry and the oil and gas sectors, and will be tested off the coast of Norway for two years.

BBC: Floating wind turbine launched

Some provinces of northern Spain now produce as much as 50% of their electricity supply by farming the wind.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But Nick Phillips, whose Exeter company, G Phillips and Sons, specialises in farming and country clothing, said the wind and rain had resulted in a hike in sales.

BBC: Injured crewman airlifted in storms off Isles of Scilly

The weather impact was exacerbated by decades of extensive farming without crop rotation, cover crops and other techniques to prevent wind erosion.

FORBES: He's Baaack!: A Hot New Media Blast From Al Gore

Farming subsidies are continually under threat, but when the federal government started subsidising ethanol production and wind power, farmers realised that renewable energy offers new streams of revenue.

ECONOMIST: Doing it their way